Back!

Sorry, I know I promised I would update on Wednesday but I ended up getting in later than I expected from Medicine Hat.

Oh well, I'm back now. Officially! I guess, because "back" for me means back to skating. It was the first time in a week that I've done anything even remotely active... and it felt great... I've been holding back mainly to rest my ankle and also because of my mouth. I got an implant in and a bone graft done on last Thursday.

Both my mouth and ankle are doing a lot better though. I still feel some minor pressure points in my boot while I skate, but there is little to no pain! I even went out a did part of The Euro's lactic capacity program today (only one set but I hurt!). Don't ask, I more or less just do things based on feeling of the moment. And I don't regret it.

As for the vacation, it was great. Although, I don't think it made even a dent at those vacations I've missed out on. I didn't really get away from the thoughts surrounding trials. While in Medicine Hat I ended up doing a couple of interviews, even an in studio one with Chat TV yesterday. Doing them always brings up suppressed emotions.

I made it up to Edmonton for a few days to see my Baba and Gido (Grandma and Grandpa in Ukrainian) who always spoil me and give me tons and tons of homemade gingersnaps! As well as my sister Shalon. Who by the way is a complete and utter nerd... I mean that in a good way, she's super smart (much like my parents, damn her getting the useful genes), and even has some published physics papers with her name in them. She's not even done her undergrad! So with out a doubt, a nerd...

The funny part relating to all this, was some how I found myself stuck at one of her friends houses. Except, all the four of them talked about was work (nerd work), school (it's summer so... nerd) and scientific nerd shtuff they had heard or were in the process of reading up on... I think there was a moment of tension when someone brought up the finer points of string theory...

Cough, cough, yes exactly...

I was trying to be polite, but after about an hour and a half I couldn't take anymore... I started to drift off, I think at that point I turned around and attempted to pass out on the couch.

As for HOME, it was great! I didn't go outside of the house that often, other than to see my Grandma. Most or all of my friends from back home have either left or... Well I don't exactly know what happened to the other ones. That in itself may be the reason. But, mostly I stayed at the house, reading and relaxing as much as I could. Which was key. Being with my parents for more than a day was also important. They come through Calgary every so often, but it's never an extended visit. Which is what I really needed. My Mom even contracted me to bake a cheesecake for when my Uncle and Aunt came to visit! Of course I took all of the leftovers and am in fact consuming a very generous piece whilst I type. YUM!

Vacation

Vacation Time for me. I'll update come Wednesday I promise. For now, trying (emphasis on trying) to make it a vacation at least! If anything it's great to be hanging around the family again.

Until then, enjoy!

Goodbye Vancouver...

I hurt my ankle when I toppled past the line Monday, a minor bone contusion and a slight ligament sprain (as if, eh!?). It made it difficult to put my boot on during the 1500 m's afterwards but I pulled through with a win in the B final (7th).

Unfortunately, today during the 1000 m semis with an almost sure advancement to the A final, I tweaked my ankle in the last corner before the finish and went flying into the boards. At that point I was done... Not mentally, but physically. I wanted to get back out there, but both Jon and Paul (physio) recommended I back off and not skate the last race. They didn't want me running the risk of turning a minor injury into a severe one.

That's not the way I'd like to have finished my first Olympic Trials. But, to be honest I guess it went well, although I'll carry the pain of that 500 m DQ for the rest of my life. Sounds depressing, but it's part of sport.

Anyways, after racing today my teammates and I took a well deserved trip to the beach for a few hours or R and R. I've just returned from a party that Red Bull put on for us at their private lounge downtown but now looking forward to returning to Alberta and spending some quality time with my family! Try and make up for the last 3 years of missed vacations and holidays when I was out competing and/or training.

Oh and that picture above, I'm not angry, I'm actually really happy! Super tired and sore, but still happy! That's me after my semis where I advanced into the 500 m A final Monday. AND YES, I'm missing a bottom tooth if you haven't figure it out yet... It's getting fixed. *sigh*

Peace out Vancouver!

PS: Here are some articles.

Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Speed+skater+Jessica+Gregg+heading+Olympics+first+time/1902922/story.html

The Province:

http://www.canada.com/sports/Skater+near/1904516/story.html

and last but not least The Medicine Hat News:

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/127343/110/

Thanks Sean!

...........

It's Tuesday morning and we still have to race a set of 1000 m's.

Yesterday I went through one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through. The insanely calming high of making the Olympic Team, to the devastating train wreck of my 2010 Olympic dreams. Dreams that I held so close to my heart these last 3 years.

I know a lot of people didn't think I'd be a threat leading into the Olympic Selection, but for me I believed I would be. And well, I was. Claiming 5 A finals and "technically" 2 wins, there is no denying it.

Now on to the race that changed me:

Everything in the last 3 years flooded in my mind as I waited to step onto the ice for the 500 m A final yesterday. The success, the falls, the injuries and the triumphs! In a nutshell though, I was a wreck. No joke, Michael Gilday said afterwards that he wished he could have calmed me down. My heart was racing a million beats a minute, my breathing was heavy and hard, I guess I know how my Mom feels now when she watches me... Haha. But despite the nerves I managed to keep my smile and confidence.

After I had won the start from 3rd on the line, two laps in I was already lost in the moment, in my mind I had already won the race, I just needed to go through the motions of the last 2 laps, maintain my focus. When I crossed the line I lost control and fell. Excitement, fatigue... Relentlessly wanting to win it and declare my victory - I straight up fell.

It happens.

Unfortunately, it had to happen on the most important race of my life.

So I was disqualified.

I still am having trouble coming to terms with the whole situation. I am the fastest and most consistent 500 m sprinter out there right now, and I'm not on the 2010 team because I fell after the line. Even if I had come 2nd I would be going right now.

I'd like to thank everyone for their unwavering support over the last few months. Especially my coaches Jon Cavar and Al McIlveen, the support staff Paul Hunter and Danelle Kabush for being there for me when I most needed it, my whole family (Thanks Dad and Uncle Ken for being my biggest fans at the trials!) for all of there support, and of course those close friends (you know who you are!). Oh ya and also all yous Euros! Haha!

Anyways enjoy!

Day 3

Day 3 ended on a fairly good note, well kind of.

The 1000 m went a little better for me, I ended up in the B final coming in 6th overall. There was a tight pass in the semis that literally knocked me back with less than two laps to go... And as a result I didn't advance to the A final.

Then with a little luck on my side pulled myself back into the 1500 m A final where I came 5th. I was sitting well with 3 laps to go (in 4th behind Olivier) but got taken out when Gilday and Marc collided hard and skated into the back of me. Both Marc and I went down, both of my skates ended up tightly packed beneath the mats.

Olivier Jean and Kalyna Roberge have clenched positions on the 2010 Olympic Team with back to back wins in the 1000 m's. Congratulations to them!

Tomorrow is a big day for me, being as it is the last set of 500 m! Today will be spent trying to relax and recover, but tomorrow I will be ready and geared to skate strong and fast!

As it stands for me right now I have:

500 m: a 1st and 4th place.

1000 m: a 6th and 9th (Yuk! haha can redeem that in my next 1000 m) place.

1500 m: a 5th and 6th place.

Cheers.

1 mm

So when I got on ice last week Thursday in Vancouver I didn't feel quite like myself, something was throwing me off. But I set it in my head that it had more to do with adjusting to the ice rather than anything to do with my equipment.

Apparently I was wrong.

My left blade was 1 mm too far to the left at the toe - in other words the offset (angle) of my blades was wrong. Seems like a weird mistake to make, but I'm dealing with new cups and it's made traveling with my equipment a little different. As soon as I changed back to what it should have been I could do little to keep my teeth (sans one) from showing. The comfort was back.

1 mm doesn't seem like a lot, but in speed skating it is. It could mean the difference between 1st and 2nd (referring to Dustin's and my 1000 m final yesterday, guy tried to sneak me at the line after I had lead 9 out of 9 laps, haha - 1 mm difference) or it could mean the difference between feeling comfortable or not, especially leading into the 2nd round of 500 m's. I needed that comfort back!

But it definitely helped me out in my performance yesterday in the 500 m. The little slips seemed to have vanished.

Apparently a lot of people have already seen the article, many way before I was aware of it. But here is a link to the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Speed+skating+Medicine+speed+skater+flies+under+radar+wins/1886680/story.html

Enjoy.

500 Win

So I'm going to keep it short, I'm really tired... I won the 500m today. It's the second out of 3 sets. Right now I'm ranked 2nd overall in the 500m, but looking for that overall win! Which will come next Monday.

1000m didn't go so well. But I came 9th.

Anyways, night!

Video: A Finals

Here are the links to the A finals of yesterday already posted on Youtube:

500 m (I'm third on the line):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOUCEpe7kMM&feature=channel_page

and 1500 m (I'm forth on the line):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hprTg8XREso&feature=channel

Enjoy.

All "A's" Baby...

Canadian Olympic Trials - Day 1.

I'm not exactly sure how to start this off, but... Today was a really good day for me! Kind of...

I don't think a lot of people expected me to make both A finals today - 1500 m and 500 m. I unfortunately "crapped the bed" in the 1500 m final coming in 6th, but needless to say that's actually pretty darn good considering I was ranked 16 out of 16 going into the distance... Michael Gilday however, my Calgarian teammate, won the race! Congratulations to him!

In the 500 m I was hurting pretty bad as well, having spent a ton of energy in the 1500 m's. But I managed to focus enough energy and power myself into the 500 m A final again. I was third on the line, but I through down a quick start and pulled into 1st. However, that's where I spent most of my energy and after 2 laps of pulling the best I could, I fell to 2nd... then to 3rd... and then at the finish line... Bam, 4th. Oh well, two A finals.

Jessica Gregg came in 2nd behind Kalyna Roberge in the 500 m A final.

There was some bad luck for the remainder of my teammates, but morale is still high, everyone seems very supportive of each other. I think that's what kept me strong through the 500 m, having so many people from Calgary competing with me at Olympic Trials is uplifting.

Well I'll get the final results of everyone from Calgary posted tomorrow.

Night.

One...

One day left before Olympic Trials begin.

Yesterday my legs felt a little "flat" on the ice. But despite them feeling like giant blocks of concrete, I maintained good, smooth, relaxed technique. In the past when my body suffered tantrums from my legs, my technique usually went out the door as well. But I'm pleased to report that wasn't the case.

Today, ice is at 3:45 pm and we'll be settling back into some speed!

The ice has been different each time we've been on it. One session was super soft and another super brittle. I think they're having trouble regulating ice and air temperatures because there has been so much activity inside the Coliseum. Us and the other workers...

They're STILL doing construction! It's pretty ridiculous if you ask me... Haha. I mean the place is starting to come together really well, but having to hear power saws and drills for the 3 hours at the rink is getting old. The whole camp in June/July we had paint fumes engulf us for the entire 2 weeks of training.

Here's a link to a Medicine Hat News article titled "Our Next Olympian":

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/124794/110/

Enjoy.

Two

Two days to go. Two days until Olympic Trials.

We're back in Vancouver now! It seemed like only yesterday that we were here.

Vancouver is so beautiful, I love being here. Normally we luck out and get sunny days, but I think we brought the clouds with us from Calgary. In the previous weeks (6 total) that I've been here for either training or racing I think there has only been 2 days of cloudy weather. But since we've been here I haven't seen the sun yet. Oh well, from what I hear on how things have been going with the temperature and fires, it's probably a good thing.

Yesterday was also our first day back on ice at the Vancouver Coliseum. Suffice to say, things are going well. We had two on ice programs yesterday tied in with a weight program. I'm looking forward to the ice session today, we have some longer laps I think.

The rest of the time is spend trying to relax.

Enjoy.

Spares

Normally, when I rocker and bend a spare pair of blades, even if I don't do them myself, it's not often that I take the time to try them out before I absolutely need to. By "need" I mean when I can no longer skate on the pair I've got on. Sometimes, during a competition I'll get kicked so hard by another skater that it'll shatter my blade or warp it so much that I won't be able to turn properly.

My coach, and others, probably think this is crazy... I'm not entirely sure why, but I've always done it that way (maybe I'm just lazy). I don't like to fiddle with my equipment, unless I absolutely have to! It drives me insane, literally. For a little while I tried to be more compulsive about it. But it eats you up, I've learned to trust the work done on the blades. Seeing the numbers on the gauge is good enough for me. I hope that mentality will stick with me through the next few weeks. Luckily, I'll have two great coaches to take care of it for me if things should go wrong! Haha.

Haha, did I really just write that?

There is the occasion kick and fall that take out bend from my blades, but that's no biggy - just hop up on the side mats and Jon or Al will pound some bend back in for me.

Today was the exception, I thought it might be a good idea to actually try my spares for once. I was hesitant at first but seeing as this is Olympic Trials, I just wanted to be sure. Turns out they were awesome, I could barely tell the difference from my actual pair! Erm, or so I thought.

The only adjustment that Jon recommended I make was to take some blade off of the front. He mentioned I had been kicking myself more than normal. Haha, funny eh?! Truthfully, I didn't even notice. So we (cough, Jon) shaved part of the front off... Potential problem adverted. It was probably a good thing I checked them out I guess!

Stolen Box of Golden Grahams

So a couple days ago I was over at my buddy Michael Gilday's house and I happened upon a giant shipment of cereal General Mills had sent him. All the box' consisted of ones that his picture had been printed on the back of - Whole Grain Cheerios and Golden Grahams.

I thought to myself, "Hey Liam, you could write a blog and help this guy get more donations... Maybe in return, he'll give you a percentage cut from his earnings!?".

Haha.

"Ya right Liam..." But I thought it'd be a funny blog anyways, so nabbed a box of Golden Grahams.

The next morning I went downstairs and poured myself a reasonably sized bowl of those deliciously sugar blasted Golden Grahams. As soon as I turned the box around I instantly recalled my plan to help out Gilday.

So I finished off what was left of the Golden Grahams and bounced (all that sugar does wonders for the soul) myself up stairs to where I could donate a dollar to my fellow teammate.

I booted up my computer and entered the web address displayed on the back of the box of cereal:

www.everydaycelebrations.ca/aspiringolympians

There it took me to a giant map that displayed a number of different Aspiring Olympians spread all across Canada. There was so many to choose from, so I panicked and accidentally pressed on Alexandra Duckworth.

I thought to myself, "Uh oh, Gilday's not going to be happy I donated a dollar to someone else... Oh wait, I guess I could go back, but that requires me dragging the curser up and clicking the back button. Oh well, I've gone too far I can't afford to turn back now." I was coming down from my sugar high, crashing hard.

So I scrounged up what energy I had left and entered he donation code I found on the inside of the cereal box. And submitted the dollar donation.

I started feeling little bit remorseful for not having donated the dollar to Michael Gilday...

But then I realized that the box hadn't been mine in the first place. I hadn't lost anything! I did however help out an aspiring Olympian. Which brightened up my day! On top of things, I had been entered for a monthly draw for a free T-shirt! It was a double win for me.

It's August!

Oh boy! It's finally August! Which means we've finally arrived at Olympic Trials month. Tomorrow will be exactly one week from when we start our first set of races - the first set of (out of three) 1500 m's and 500 m's. This is probably one of the most important competition of my skating career. There is so much depth in Canada for Short Track talent. So it is going to be an intense week and a half. I general have that feeling when it comes to skating Canadian trials, but I know this'll be different.

Normally, Canadian Trials are only one set of races, that run over a 3 day period. However, there's more on the line this time. Everyone in the top 16 is fighting for one of those 5 spots that'll send you to the Games in 2010! Of course, the Mens team is now down to 4 remaining spots! As Charles Hamelin has already been named to the team.

The competition will start on the 9th of August and run through to the 18th of August. The race days will be as follows:

Sunday August 9th: 1500m and 500m

Wednesday August 12th: 500m and 1000m

Saturday August 15th: 1000m and 1500m

Monday August 17th: 500m and 1500m

Tuesday August 18th: 1000m

We ship off to Vancouver on Wednesday evening.